With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, China has given six well-known domestic brands, some centuries old, a fresh look and new official English names, but not everyone is happy with them.
Famous roast duck restaurant Quanjude has become "Quanjude Peking Roast Duck – Since 1864", while traditional pharmacy Tongrentang is now "Tongrentang Chinese Medicine – Since 1669," state media reported on Wednesday.
"The translations give prominence to the history of the brands, while giving English speakers an idea of what they are or what they sell," Professor Wang Dili of Beijing Foreign Studies University was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
I don't usually like to quote Shakespeare since the practice is unconscionably pretentious, but in this case, I made an exception and went with Macbeth for my post headline. Says it all, doesn't it?
I understand that many brands here are not too foreigner friendly, but the whole thing smacks of a cosmetic, cutesy sort of makeover akin to teaching taxi drivers to say "Hello" and "Thank you." If they could teach cab drivers to say "I'm from a small town in Hubei, arrived in Beijing last week, and have no idea how to get to [insert destination]," that would be useful.
Come to think of it, when Macbeth used that line in discussing the "tale" that is life (what a buzz kill), didn't he say that it was being told by an idiot? Hmm, even more appropriate than I first thought.